Meet Harini’s multi-cultural class in this children’s book aimed at kids aged 3 and up. Harini is excited to share her Diwali story, but she quickly learns that she’s not the only one! Join Harini as she learns about Hindu, Sikh, Jain and Buddhist Diwali traditions in this colorful, engaging tale from teacher/author Anjali Joshi and illustrator Tim Palin. This diverse children’s book from publisher Bharat Babies helps introduce your child to the wonderful festival of Diwali which is celebrated around the world. Set in a classroom, this story is perfect for parents, teachers and caregivers alike. Approved by the Hindu American Foundation as a premier text for children to learn about the festival of Diwali. Follow the rest of Harini’s adventures in Hanuman and the Orange Sun , Bharat Babies flagship book.

What I Thought:

This was a fabulous look at the different ways people celebrate Diwali!

I knew very little (okay virtually nothing) about Diwali before I read this book, and it did an excellent job of explaining it to the reader. I had no idea that Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and Bhuddists all celebrated the same holiday with such varying traditions and that they all told such fascinating stories about its origins.

I loved that one of the children had a bit of anxiety about wondering if the way he celebrated Diwali was “wrong.” It was very relatable moment. The other children, rather than telling him he was wrong, were curious about the way his family did things, and excited to tell each other the ways their own families celebrated. Adorable!

Let’s Celebrate Diwali started some awesome discussions with Evelyn about different religions and holidays. Our local museum has a multicultural holiday exhibit right now and Evelyn was able to point out and explain the Diwali section after reading this! I was so proud of her.

The pronunciation guide at the end of the book was great! It helped me to read that first before reading it aloud to my girls.

The colours in this book are bright and bold, exactly what I was expecting from a book about Diwali. Evelyn loved the big round faces of the children.

I would recommend this book to anyone searching for a way to teach their children about our wonderful multicultural world!

Pierre the Maze Detective has a new case. Mr X has stolen the Maze Stone, which has the power to turn the whole of Opera City into a maze. Can you help Pierre and his friend Carmen find their way through the mazes – and stop Mr X before it’s too late? This beautifully illustrated book features 15 full-spread illustrations of intricate, magical mazes. Take a trip through a fantastic world of underground cities, hot-air balloons, tree-top towns and haunted houses. Trace your way through each maze, spot the clues and solve the extra mystery challenges along the way. Hours of puzzle fun, for all maze detectives aged 8+. A page of answers with the routes through the mazes and other solutions is included at the end of the book.

What I Thought:

This book is beyond extraordinary.

The best way I can explain this is as Where’s Waldo on crack.

The attention to detail in this book is astounding. There were so many little hidden surprises that I spent a ridiculous amount of time finding. I was pleased to note a few nods to Waldo in the form of red and white stripes scattered throughout the story. And I’m pretty sure I even found a Weeping Angel in Dracula’s castle…

Another part of this book that I LOVE are the little instructions on what to find that are at the bottom of each page. They include all sorts of different mediums – shopping lists, newspaper articles, museum pamphlets, and Balloon Association handouts. It was such a clever and interesting way to present the information, and was one of the many ways in which this book went above and beyond.

The recommended age is 8+ but my 4 year old did pretty well with it. I think she may have jumped over a few barriers on the page but she didn’t notice and just thought she had done extra well on the maze! She will grab this book and sit down for thirty minutes at a time – every mother’s dream.

When I saw the matching colouring book I nearly died. The colouring book is a page by page copy of the original book, but with different activities to do, which was awesome. The pages lay open well to make it easier to colour. It is just such a clever idea! This would make such an amazing present coupled with the regular book. I LOVED IT.

Extras:

In other news as I was looking for an “extra” to put in here, I was scrolling through Google trying to find an interesting picture of a map. Evelyn was sitting beside me and saw the picture below and said,
“Hey!! Mom!! It’s you!!!!”
“Uhhh… thanks Evelyn.”

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So you may or may not know that I have a bookstagram account on Instagram called @booksinthewild that I really love running. I’ve been wanting for a while to combine Quillable and @booksinthewild but wasn’t sure how I wanted to do it. But now I do!

I’m going to post some adventures that we’ve been on, and I hope you enjoy them. I’m not going to go crazy and turn this into a travel blog, just the occasional post here and there. Probably one every three or four weeks. And there will always be pictures of books in the posts too, so don’t fret.